Make no mistake, we all pay for police brutality.

[Baitball Blogger]

No one can question that the black community is taking the physical brunt of this new militarized police force, nor should we question that this is a cause that we all most join in to fight against. The damage that these incidents cause go well beyond the sites where police actions take place, because children are growing up with a lack of trust and confidence in society, in general.

This lack of trust is expressed each time someone is fearful to take a risk in making friends or joining networks outside of their own, trusted hemispheres. That's not a good prognosis for financial success where networking can make the difference between success and failure.

That's the reason we need to man the police departments with people who have level heads because they, in the end, are the bridge between communities. Like it or not, they are seen as our representatives. If children are growing up with a lack of trust in the police, they will also have distrust in people that they feel support their methods. And how are they to know which one of us is racist, and which one of us is safe just by looking at us?

Until we can fix the problems we have in our police departments, expect the tension and lack of trust they create to form barriers that will keep our neighborhoods separated, just like the racists want them to be.

[Solly Mack]

1. Children of color have long been wary of the police.

Children of color have been distrustful of police/"the law" for centuries in America, and with good reason. There were police during slavery, and the end of slavery did not change hearts and minds. Laws, "slave codes", were instituted to control slaves and those laws/codes enforced by a brutal policing agent.

The "black community" has been the scapegoat of police (and the society they hail from) for generations.

It didn't just come to be with the advent of more aggressive police tactics. It has long been a burden, and a deadly one, for people of color.

Police reflect the power behind their force, and when you have a society imbued with a sense of white superiority, which America has never been without, then the police will reflect that thinking. As will laws, regulations, and rules, etc. So, yeah - they are America's representatives.

The police attacks on people of color are the symptom of a much larger problem. Entrenched racism that has seeded itself into every aspect of American society is the root problem.

Yes, police training could be better - and should be.

Yes, hiring should be held to a much higher standard and racists and bigots of all stripes should be weeded out. And never hired in the first place.

Yes, police who abuse their authority and break the public trust should be fired and have charges brought against them.

Yes, society as a whole does pay for the horrors caused by racism.

But right now, and for years and years gone by, children of color have had to live in the real world. The world as it is - and that world can get them killed for nothing more than their skin color.

It's not simply a matter of building trust. That trust must be earned, repeatedly.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. I hear you.

"Entrenched racism that has seeded itself into every aspect of American society is the root problem."

No question that black communities are getting the worst of our discriminatory practices, but the "fun" doesn't end in the suburbs where the politically connected commit all kinds of civil torts and they have the police to watch their backs for them.

This monster has two faces.

[hootinholler]

2. "because children are growing up with a lack of trust and confidence in society"

I think that is by design.

When high IQ test performance is rejected by police recruiters, this shit happens.

When the poor are held in jails for possibly years because they can't make bail, this shit happens.

You're god-damned right that everyone pays for it, except those who seem to escape paying for anything except congressional votes.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. Children raised in a stressful environment cannot grow to reach their full potential.

Minds need to be free of unnecessary noise in order to stay focused on the lesson plan. They can't do that if they are dealing with a lot of outside stresses.

[hootinholler]

6. Or if they're hungry

It's a fucking travesty.

[Fumesucker]

3. I think a lack of trust in authorities is not necessarily a bad thing

Since the authorities so often prove that they aren't trustworthy.

And I'm by no means talking about just the police.